Geography

Well situated, surrounded with the Caucasian mountain system, at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, on the coast of the Black sea there is a small country (approximately 69,700 square kilometers) Georgia — about the size of West Virginia or Switzerland.

In the north, Georgia has a 723 km common border with Russia’s Northern Caucasus federal district. Georgia also shares borders with Azerbaijan (322 km) to the south-east, Armenia (164 km.) to the south and Turkey (252 km.) to the south-west.

Mountains are the dominant geographic feature of Georgia. The Likhi Range divides the country into eastern and western halves. Historically, the western portion of Georgia was known as Colchis while the eastern plateau was called Iberia.

The southern portion of the country is bounded by the Lesser Caucasus Mountains. The Greater Caucasus Mountain Range is much higher in elevation than the Lesser Caucasus Mountains, with the highest peaks rising more than 5,000 meters (16,400 ft) above sea level. The highest mountain in Georgia is Mount Shkhara at 5,201 meters (17,059 ft). Other prominent peaks include Kazbegi (Kazbek) at 5,047 meters (16,554 ft), Tetnuldi (4,974 m./16,319ft.), Mt. Ushba (4,710 m./15,453ft.).

Georgia has a rich scenic variety: it lies mostly in the Caucasus Mountains, and its northern boundary to Russia is partly defined by the Greater Caucasus range. The Lesser Caucasus range, which runs parallel to the Turkish and Armenian borders, and the Surami and Imereti ranges, which connect the Greater Caucasus and the Lesser Caucasus, create natural barriers that are partly responsible for cultural and linguistic differences among regions.

Hundreds of years ago it sat on the legendary nothern part of a Silk Road, and now it is It is developing as a gateway from the Black Sea to the larger Caspian and Central Asian regions.